Kiwi Ears Stardust Review: Dark, dry, husky This IEM retails for $75/₹7500, featuring a customized DD + 4 BAs for the hardware. They've attempted to tune it to a "warm neutral" target as per marketing, but did they achieve it? My one key issue with this IEM is that the mids have a very audible honk in many situations. It's easy to notice when paying even a slight bit of attention. The mid bass slam is tactile enough, and isn't soft or mushy, with a decent initial transient. But it's not the most weighty or thumpy slam. Kick drums are good, mostly. Sub bass...exists but is mediocre in quality and the quantity is also insufficient. Just that "honk" or "husk" or whatever you call it, is my personal dealbreaker. For those who don't understand what that is, it basically makes vocals sound like the singers have a cold, and they're singing through their nose, it's just unpleasant. The upper mid range roll off is excessively overdone. Pairing honk with a reduced upper midrange creates a very glaringly annoying presentation. Female vocals miss out on energy but have a very weird sound. Upper treble/air are simply not present. There's not enough sparkle. As for lower treble, it's also sort-of reduced. The subjective elements of the IEM are nothing special with average stage, average imaging, and very less open-ness and sparkle. It just sounds congested and closed off. The timbre of instruments is unnatural and dry. I will not say that it's completely unlistenable. I have heard far worse as a reviewer, but this is one of the company's really weak entries into the segment. Sure, multiple hours of use and I can get used to it, but I can do the same with anything that sounds bad. I simply cannot recommend it over any of the others selling at this price. The lack of proper air, the honky midrange, & weird presentation of the instruments makes it a skip. I suppose, by "warm neutral" sound, they meant less bass, and then aggressive reduction of upper mids and all areas of treble? If that was the goal, the 1-2K range should have been kept in check. The whole sound doesn't present itself as cohesively done. Sure, the Type C version has EQ customisation but there are many better options that sound good out of the box for this price. Hexa, Pure, Alba, IE200, Unicrom, Sonus 2, Aria 2, Defiant... the segment already has crowned champions and this just cannot compete. The shell design is nice, and you get a fairly decent, thick enough cable that looks good. It's a typical Kiwi Ears unboxing with the cable, tips, and a small carrying pouch.

IEC 711 graph.

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